Edison man sentenced to 10 years in prison for operating prostitution ring

Percival Williams, of Edison, who was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for enslaving women and operating a prostitution ring.NJ Attorney General's Office

NEW BRUNSWICK — An Edison man was ordered today to serve 10 years in state prison for operating a high-priced prostitution ring based in New Jersey, acting Attorney General John Hoffman announced.

Superior Court Judge Bradley Ferencz, sitting in New Brunswick, ordered Percival Williams, 36, to serve five years of the sentence before he is eligible for parole.

“Williams lured vulnerable young women with promises of a glamorous life, only to trap them in a hell of prostitution, beatings and fear,” Hoffman said in a press release today. “We’ll continue to use New Jersey’s strong law against human trafficking to protect women and lock up traffickers like Williams.”

Williams pleaded guilty Feb. 10 to conspiracy to commit human trafficking and promoting prostitution. He admitted to the judge that he conspired to lure women to New Jersey, where he forced them into prostitution by threats of violence.

Hoffman said Williams' guilty plea was one of the first under the state’s new human trafficking statute, which took effect on July 1, 2013.

Williams was indicted Nov. 12, 2013, with his girlfriend, Asha Chanell Vaughn, 24. Vaughn also pleaded guilty on Feb. 10 to promoting prostitution. Hoffman said the state will recommend she be sentenced to probation.

The press release said Williams was arrested in Dallas in February 2013 by U.S. marshals on a warrant obtained from New Jersey. Vaughn was arrested two days later at Williams’ home in Edison.

The release said the state’s investigation revealed that Williams, who uses the street names “Knowledge” and “Don Cholo,” is a pimp who found young women in various locations, including the Cleveland area and brought them to New Jersey, either against their will or by enticing them with promises of a relationship or better life, in order to “enslave them in prostitution.”

Williams owned high-performance cars, including two Maseratis and a Porsche, and he posed as a music producer, the press release said.

Investigators learned that Williams abducted one woman from Cleveland after unsuccessfully trying to persuade her to move to New York with him. He laced her drink with a narcotic that caused her to pass out and, while she was unconscious, drove her to New Jersey, where he attempted to force her to work as a prostitute, according to the press release.

The release said Williams kept the women he prostituted at his house or in nearby hotels and would solicit clients for the women by placing ads on the website Backpage.com that included naked photos and videos of the women. He demanded that the women charge high hourly rates for sex acts, typically $500 to $1,000 and turn all proceeds over to him.

If they didn’t earn enough, Williams beat them, the press release said. He also threatened their family members to get them to comply and prevent them from fleeing.